Migrating from Cisco 7200 Series Routers
First Published: January 28, 2014
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Overview
This document provides information about how to migrate from Cisco 7200 Series Routers to more
modern hardware. The advantages of migration and the process for successful migration are detailed in
this document. Note that in many cases, the most suitable replacement will be Cisco ASR 1000 Series
Aggregation Services Routers. In certain circumstances, it will be more cost-effective or more suitable
to choose Cisco Integrated Services Routers (ISR) 4451-X or Cisco ISR G2 3945E platform. The
circumstances to choose Cisco ISR 4451-X or Cisco ISR G2 3945E platform are described in this
document.
Cisco 7200 Series Routers Summary
The Cisco 7200 Series Routers (which includes the Cisco 7301 Router) have been popular for both
enterprise and service provider customers. They are found in networks that required high throughput and
a very rich set of Layer 3 or Layer 2 features. In enterprise deployments, the Cisco 7200 Series Routers
were typically used for WAN aggregation, IPsec aggregation, and Internet edge scenarios.
The Cisco 7200 Series Routers performed well in earlier deployments, but new features cannot function
on the old hardware. Internally, the Cisco 7200 Series Routers have a single CPU responsible for some
router functions and line cards (Port Adapter cards) responsible for some functions such as hardware
offload. For secure VPN capability, an external IPsec card, known as the Cisco VPN Service Adapter
module (VSA), provides encryption based features. Furthermore, the Cisco 7200 Series Routers had a
replaceable Network Processing Engine (NPE) card that was responsible for the core router functions,
and was upgradable over time to keep the performance high. However modern features, especially IPv6
and application visibility, consume a large amount of resources, which the Cisco 7200 Series Routers do
not possess. Route reflector capabilities are poor due to the limited memory on the Cisco 7200 Series
Routers. Modern encryption technologies such as Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) and
MACsec require specialized hardware support.
Cisco Systems, Inc.
www.cisco.com
Cisco 7200 Series Routers Summary
Twenty years since the introduction of the Cisco 7200 Series Routers, there have been dynamic changes
in customer needs, and many customers will have requirements for next generation networks. Cisco has
announced End-of-Sale (EoS) and End-of-Life (EoL) dates for the Cisco 7200 Series Routers, and in
most cases the direct replacements are the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers. In some cases, a more
suitable replacement may be the Cisco ISR 4451-X routers or the Cisco ISR G2 3945E routers.
In course of time, support for the Cisco 7200 Series Routers will be stopped. See the following link for
details about the EoS and EoL announcements:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/prod/collateral/routers/ps341/end_of_life_c51-681414.html
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Cisco 7200 Series Routers Summary
Do I Need to Migrate?
Many customers have already migrated off the Cisco 7200 Series Routers by now. The table below helps
you determine if a platform replacement is essential and what benefits exist for your desired
requirements:
Table 1
Requirements and Platform Replacements
Requirement
Cisco 7200 Support
IPv6 Capability
Performance dramatically drops on the Cisco
7200 Series Routers when IPv6 features are
enabled. As a result, the option to enable IPv6
feature is not present for many features inside
the Cisco 7200 Series Routers.
Cisco ASR 1000/ISR 4451-X/ISR G2 3945E
support
These routers are designed for IPv4 and IPv6
capability. Until networks are all IPv6, there
will be a need to co-exist with IPv4, using
IPv6 transition technologies. All the
following three families of IPv6 transition
technologies are supported by the Cisco ASR
1000 Series Routers:
•
Dual Stack
•
Translation
•
Tunnelling
Secure VPN and other technologies are IPv6
enabled. Locator/ID Separation Protocol
(LISP) support is built-in.
Cloud capability
The Cisco 7200 Series Router offers little to
Layer 4 and beyond capabilities. It was
designed at a time when services ran locally in
customer branch offices.
Cisco is the first vendor to incorporate Cloud
Connectors into routers. Cisco Intelligent
WAN (iWAN) is a unique innovation that can
maintain application-specific path selection
under changing conditions. It ensures
applications work speedily across any
transport and works around
blackout/brownout conditions.
Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV)
technology is scalable and does not suffer
from flooding, and it is also not restricted to
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
networks. It is a unique solution for Layer 2
connectivity, designed from the ground up to
support Cloud services.
The LISP Virtual Machine (VM) Mobility
provides the capability to offer shortest path
connectivity to data centers where data and
applications reside, even when they move
from data center to data center within a Layer
2 domain. LISP works across the private WAN
or the public Internet.
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Cisco 7200 Series Routers Summary
Table 1
Requirements and Platform Replacements (continued)
Requirement
Cisco 7200 Support
Built-in denial of
service/distributed denial of
service (DoS/DDoS)
protection
The Cisco 7200 Series Routers do not have a
separated control and data plane.
Cisco ASR 1000/ISR 4451-X/ISR G2 3945E
support
The Cisco ISR G2 platforms offer Intrusion
Prevention System (IPS) and firewall
capability. The Cisco ISR 4451-X and Cisco
ASR 1000 Series Routers have a very high
throughput zone based firewall. The Cisco
ASR 1000 Series Routers have a very high
session set-up rate for the zone based firewall
capability, and it can sustain throughput up to
36 Gbps on a 2 RU sized platform and far
higher (for the larger platforms). Unlike other
routers, the Cisco routers are extremely rich in
security features. Application Layer
Gateways (ALGs) are present. Border control
is available for voice and video applications.
Medianet and Business Video These features are not present on the Cisco
Capability
7200 Series Routers.
The Medianet solution offers the tools to
ensure end-to-end delivery of voice and video
applications for businesses, and it enables HD
and multi-HD immersive video conferencing
solutions.
Built-in Encryption
Cisco routers support the ability for users to
connect from anywhere including mobile
devices using Cisco AnyConnect and
FlexVPN. Businesses can reduce WAN costs
for remote offices, by having a DSL
connection as a backup connection secured
using DMVPN, and use the high performing
GET VPN encryption for Multi Protocol
Label Switching (MPLS). Both of these
solutions are highly scalable and are
zero-touch as additional branch offices are
added. The Cisco ISR 4451-X and Cisco ASR
1000 Series Routers use dedicated hardware,
built-in for crypto capability. It scales to
beyond 60 Gbps of sustained secure VPN
traffic depending on the size of platform
chosen.
The Cisco 7200 Series Routers have an
optional hardware crypto card known as a
VSA module. It has limited throughput and
does not support modern technologies.
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Cisco 7200 Series Routers Summary
Table 1
Requirements and Platform Replacements (continued)
Cisco ASR 1000/ISR 4451-X/ISR G2 3945E
support
Requirement
Cisco 7200 Support
Cisco TrustSec/Security
Policy
This solution is not present on the Cisco 7200 There are extremely strong reasons to have
Series Routers.
security policies that are based on the user and
the data that is being accessed. The best way
to achieve contextual security is with the
data-centric security solution provided by
Cisco TrustSec. Different departments or
different users can be restricted to accessing
data that they need in acceptable access
contexts. It can also prevent security risks
with running multiple department servers and
databases within the same data centre or on
virtual machines or unauthorized LAN access.
These benefits are not possible to achieve with
access control lists (ACLs) or firewalls. Cisco
TrustSec is supported on Cisco routers and
switches. MACsec is a point-to-point
encryption technology that can secure LAN
traffic using a highly secure cipher. It requires
dedicated hardware present in some Cisco
routers.
Application Visibility and
Control (AVC)
This feature is not present on the Cisco 7200
Series Routers.
AVC greatly simplifies network management
by identifying, analyzing, and graphically
displaying all the application usage within the
network. For example, it will show how many
users are using Skype, browsing the Internet,
and so on. It can identify individual cloud
applications and identify the location of
delays (such as LAN, WAN, server, cloud
service provider). The details from AVC can
be used by the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers
to automatically classify traffic, for better
Quality of Service, such that users have a
better experience. Traffic policing and
shaping can be directly applied to specific
applications rather than to destination IP
addresses. Application specific bandwidth
guarantees can be applied. Per-application
traffic can be shaped before entering a secure
VPN tunnel on the same router. All these
features are supported on the Cisco router
platforms.
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Migration Hardware Options
Table 1
Requirements and Platform Replacements (continued)
Requirement
Cisco 7200 Support
Programmable Networks
using Cisco ONE
This feature is not present on the Cisco 7200
Series Routers.
Cisco ASR 1000/ISR 4451-X/ISR G2 3945E
support
Cisco Open Network Environment (ONE)
provides an API-based, deep programmatic
access into Cisco devices. This allows
customers to create new solutions rapidly
using a task-based programming interface
without needing to understand protocols,
message formats, and the associated
compatibility concerns. It is possible for
system integrators and web developers to
rapidly deploy new solutions using Cisco
hardware. Cisco ONE is supported on Cisco
routers.
Single coordinated
This is not available for the Cisco 7200 Series Cisco Prime Infrastructure provides a
management and streamlined Routers.
complete management platform. It allows for
configuration platform
configurations to be speedily created and
quickly deployed across the enterprise. New
branch office switch and router configuration
is a simple click-and-deploy exercise.
Businesses can create their own configuration
scripts, and many are supplied, based on
validated and well documented designs in the
Cisco Borderless Networks deployment
guides. Cisco routers also integrate well with
third party network management for
customers who prefer that approach, using
standards based interfaces.
Unified Border Element for
voice and video applications
This is not available for the Cisco 7200 Series Businesses that use voice and video services
Routers.
can benefit from Cisco Unified Border
Element (CUBE) functionality. It allows for
compatibility with service provider voice
connections and with voice and video
conferencing devices. It also protects the
business from malicious software and
network attacks targeting specific voice and
video protocols.
Migration Hardware Options
Table 1 provides summary of suitable replacements for the modern networks. All these routers provide
a comparable or an increased level of performance combined with support for all the modern feature
richness in Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE. These routers are considered feature-rich; they offer built-in
Layer 2, Layer 3 and higher layer features such as secure VPN, deep layer 7 application visibility, voice
and video features and cloud application performance, and acceleration enabling. The Cisco ISR G2
Series Routers run the traditional Cisco IOS operating system. The Cisco ISR 4451-X and Cisco ASR
1000 Series Routers runs the same Cisco IOS as a process on top of a hardened Linux kernel and is
named Cisco IOS XE. From a configuration and management standpoint, there is no difference between
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Migration Hardware Options
Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE; both look identical. Internally, Cisco IOS XE allows for massive
scalability and high performance because certain feature execution can be moved off the Cisco IOS
process into multi-cored CPUs within the data plane.
Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers
Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers were developed as a direct replacement for Cisco 7200 Series Routers.
Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routes are feature-rich edge routers that address the complex requirements of
the modern networks. These routers meet the needs of both service providers and enterprises. They are
available in sizes ranging from 1 rack unit (RU) to 13 RU. The feature set is common across the 1 RU to
13 RU size range. The only difference is performance and level of hardware redundancy that may be
needed. In most cases, the 2 RU sized Cisco ASR 1002-X will be the appropriate replacement. It offers
switchable performance from 2.5 Gbps up to 36 Gbps with no hardware upgrade. Note that the
performance is sustained even when multiple built-in features such as secured VPN technology and a
zone-based firewall are switched on. Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers were developed to sustain multiple
features beyond traditional routing protocols and packet forwarding.
Cisco ASR 1006 will be most suitable for networks that need a high level of redundancy. For networks
that have grown dramatically or need a very large amount of network interfaces (for either Layer 3 or
Layer 2), the 13 RU sized Cisco ASR 1013 may be considered. For branch use, Cisco ASR 1001 or Cisco
ASR 1002-X will be most appropriate. For WAN aggregation and Internet Edge use with full internal
hardware resiliency, Cisco ASR 1006 should be considered. Cisco ASR 1002-X is also a suitable
platform, and it offers inter-chassis resiliency capability. The entire Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers have
a fully separated data plane that is hardened against DoS attacks.
Cisco ISR 4451-X
For deployments that need throughput up to a ceiling of 2 Gbps, the new Cisco ISR 4451-X is a
cost-effective option. It again offers switchable performance (no hardware upgrade needed) of 1 Gbps
or 2 Gbps. The Cisco ISR 4451-X offers a broadly near-identical set of features as the Cisco ASR 1000
Series Routers. The Cisco ISR 4451-X runs the same operating system and software release numbering
is identical to Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers. The Cisco ISR 4451-X can also accept Cisco Unified
Computing System (UCS-E) cards for offloading certain features or for running customer-specific
software inside virtual machines on a high performance multi-core Intel chipset. Cisco's full WAN
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How to Migrate
Optimization solution can run on these cards, offering built-in Citrix acceleration as part of its
capabilities. The Cisco ISR 4451-X can be a suitable replacement for Branch, WAN aggregation, or
Internet edge locations.
Cisco ISR G2 3945E
The Cisco ISR G2 Series Routers offer feature richness, unified communications including Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) capabilities for voice and video and security functions such as IPS, Firewall, and
web security, and content filtering. Cisco UCS-E cards enable additional features such as rich WAN
optimization capabilities. The Cisco 3945E is ideal for branch deployments where the high performing
Cisco ISR 4451-X or Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers are not needed.
How to Migrate
Virtually, all existing Cisco 7200 Series Routers features are supported on modern Cisco routers. Some
very old features that customers are no longer using in modern networks are no longer supported on the
newer replacement offerings.
The information provided here is designed to help you accurately determine the platform that will meet
all your requirements.
If you wish to make the determination yourself, follow the three-step process described below. If you
have a unique service offering or any special concern, contact your Account Team directly. If you need
Cisco to perform the determination and to create an entire plan for migration and assistance during the
migration, there are Cisco Advanced Services order codes that should be used. The order codes are
ASF-SP0-NGN-UPG1, ASF-SP0-NGN-UPG1 or ASF-SP0-NGN-UPG2. These codes can be requested
from your Account Team.
Three-Step Process
The process is:
1.
Check the Feature Incompatibility and Workaround Table.
2.
Check Feature Navigator online for any feature you are unsure about.
3.
The determination is complete—You are ready to order, configure (via CLI or management
platform), and get your network devices ready for testing before going live.
If you are unsure at any stage, contact Cisco.
Feature Incompatibility and Workaround Table
The table below helps you determine the features that are incompatible and the corresponding
workaround:
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Table 2
Feature Incompatibility and Workaround
Feature or Scenario
Description
Workaround
ISDN/PRI Voice
ISDN/PRI functionality is used to allow
Enterprise or SP customers to connect voice
calls from the network (for example from
Softphones) to PBXs such as Nortel Meridian
or Siemens.
Many customers have moved to SIP trunks,
and therefore the Cisco ASR 1000 Series
Routers only support ISDN/PRI voice
capability in a L2TP Access Concentrator
(LAC) deployment model. For all other
ISDN/PRI voice capability the Cisco ISR G2
Routers are recommended.
SNMP MIB support
SNMP MIB support is used for network
management (NM) purposes.
SNMP is supported on the replacement
platforms. Always ensure that
platform-specific MIBs are incorporated into
your NM platforms. The Cisco ASR 1000
Series Routers and Cisco 4451-X reference is
here:
ftp://ftp.cisco.com/pub/mibs/supportlists/asr1
000/asr1000-supportlist.html
This feature is not expected to be available on
the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers until the
end of 2014. The workaround is either to use
Cisco ISR G2 Routers, or to switch to IPsec
for remote access.
Encryption - SSL VPNs
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is used for
encrypted remote access (for example home
user). It is sometimes desirable, because the
SSL client software is built-in to many
computer operating systems. The Cisco
AnyConnect client supports both SSL and
IPsec. The client is available on mobile
handsets too (Apple/Android).
Intrusion Prevention System
(IPS)
IPS uses deep packet inspection capability to This functionality is not available on the
prevent against threats including worms and Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers. The
viruses.
workaround is to use Cisco ASA CX or Cisco
ISR 4451-X, or Cisco ISR G2 platforms.
Network Management Netflow top talkers
This functionality is used to identify the
heaviest users of a network for network
management purposes. The router reports the
information via the Netflow protocol to a
server.
Security / Encryption: public
key infrastructure (PKI)
Server (Certificate
Authority)
The Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers do not
Certificate authorities are part of the
support this capability. The workaround is to
infrastructure that allows devices to know
who they are talking to, and to ensure no other use the Cisco ISR G2 Router.
device can see the information content. It
forms part of Transport Layer Security (TLS)
used for web traffic for example. Usually, the
role of the CA in the infrastructure is part of
Microsoft Windows Server, or Linux Server
functionality, but it can also run on some
Cisco routers.
Today, this feature is not available on the
Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers but may be
available towards the end of 2014. There are
far better methods available today. Cisco AVC
is supported on the Cisco ASR 1000 Series
Routers, Cisco ISR G2, and Cisco ISR
4451-X platforms and can provide a far more
detailed inspection, and can also assist in
providing QoS classification.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which Platform is most Suitable?
Once you have determined that the features you require are supported, in general any router within a
series will be suitable. With the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers, the differences between the platforms
relate to performance and level of redundancy. The larger platforms are capable of higher throughput. A
typical choice is the Cisco ASR 1002-X platform which can be purchased to support 2.5 Gbps of
performance (with features) but can be turned up to 36 Gbps with no hardware swap-out needed.
For highly resilient WAN aggregation and Internet Edge scenarios the Cisco ASR 1006 platform is more
suitable because it can continue to operate with hardware failures within the chassis. The smaller Cisco
ASR 1000 series platforms offer software-based resiliency with multiple redundant IOS processes
running on the Linux kernel in IOS XE, and hardware based redundancy using protocols such as Hot
Standby Router Protocol (HSRP) operating between devices.
For lower throughput scenarios or for scenarios that require in-box WAN acceleration, the Cisco ISR
4451-X is the most suitable platform.
If an unusual feature is needed that is not supported on the Cisco ASR 1000 or Cisco ISR4451-X
platforms, then the Cisco ISR G2 3945E should be considered.
Frequently Asked Questions
1.
What if further assistance is needed?
The Cisco 7200 Series Routers have been successfully migrated to more modern Cisco routers in
thousands of customer networks over the past two years. So, we are confident that all common Cisco
7200 scenarios have been addressed or enhanced. If it is possible for Cisco to obtain a copy of your router
configuration file then it can be submitted to your Account Team. The router configuration file will be
checked for any CLI that has been deprecated, and workarounds suggested.
2.
Is there a list of every single feature that is not supported on replacement hardware?
There are hundreds of thousands of command line combinations in IOS, of which we believe very few
are not supported today. They are the ones which are either removed because the scenarios have become
outdated, or ones that are uncommon and not likely to be required by any customer, or are planned for a
later release.
Further Information
General Product Information
Cisco.com landing page for Cisco ASR 1000 videos, announcements and data sheets
www.cisco.com/go/asr
Port adapters
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps9343/data_sheet_c78-443175_ps9343_Products
_Data_Sheet.html
Cisco 4451-X Data Sheet
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps10906/ps12522/ps12626/data_sheet_c78-72819
0.html
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Further Information
Cisco 3954E Data Sheet
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10749/index.html
Feature Information
Feature Navigator
http://tools.cisco.com/ITDIT/CFN/jsp/index.jsp
Network Management
Cisco Prime Infrastructure including free evaluation copy
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps12239/index.html
Cisco ASR 1000 Ordering Guide
Ordering guide including example bill-of-materials
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps9343/product_bulletin_c07-448862.html
Cisco 4451-X Ordering Guide
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps10906/ps12522/guide_c07-728759.html
Cisco 3945E Ordering Guide
The C3945E-AX/K9 order code provides the Application Experience (AX) router which includes
licenses to run Cisco WAAS and Cisco AVC
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns1015/ns726/ns302/ns1226/guide_c07-726864.html
Software Configuration Guides
Cisco ASR 1000 Aggregation Services Routers Software Configuration Guide
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/products/ps9343/products_installation_and_configuration_guides
_list.html
Cisco 4451-X
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps12522/products_installation_and_configuration_guides_list.h
tml
Cisco 3945E
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10536/products_installation_and_configuration_guides_list.h
tml
End-of-Sale Announcements
Cisco 7200 EoS announcement
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps341/prod_eol_notices_list.html
Cisco 7301 EoS announcement
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps352/end_of_life_c51-678393.html
Cisco 7200 series port adapter EoS announcement
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/modules/ps2033/end_of_life_c51-676743.html
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Further Information
Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of
Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The
use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)
Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any
examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only.
Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.
© 2014 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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